Feral cats declared as a pest animal in Victoria

The Victorian Government is acting to protect Victoria’s precious biodiversity and threatened wildlife by declaring the feral cat as an established pest animal.

The declaration applies to areas of Crown land managed by the Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, Parks Victoria, Phillip Island Nature Parks, and Victoria’s four Alpine Resorts.

Feral cat control will be implemented by department and agency staff and their agents to protect threatened wildlife most at risk from feral cats.

A code of practice will be developed in consultation with animal welfare organisations to guide and develop best practice for feral cat management.

Feral cats will not be declared as a pest animal on private land, meaning farmers and other private landholders will not be required to control feral cats.

Private land owners will still be able to manage cats roaming on their property in accordance with current laws.

Recreational hunters will not be permitted to hunt feral cats on Crown land, unless they are accredited volunteers operating in control programs managed by Parks Victoria or the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning.

Feral cats are a threat to some of Victoria’s most critically-endangered native wildlife, such as the Mountain-pygmy Possum, Helmeted Honeyeater, Orange-bellied Parrot and Plains Wanderer.

Feral cats are estimated to kill 466 million reptiles and 272 million birds in Australia every year.

The Victorian Government recently undertook public consultation on the proposed feral cat declaration. Over 1,000 submissions were received, with more than 75 per cent of respondents supporting the declaration of feral cats as pests.